Iglesia ni Cristo

Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is a nontrinitarian Christian sect in the Philippines which was founded in 1914 by Felix Y. Manalo. Manalo, a former Roman Catholic, sought to restore the original Christian Church, claiming that its registration in the Philippines was the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies about the re-emergence of Jesus' church in the east (Isaiah 43:5). The Bible is the sole basis for the church's beliefs and practices, but it rejects the dominant trinitarian theory of Christianity, believing that there was only one God, the Father, and that Jesus was not a deity and was instead a mere human. Iglesia ni Cristo believes that the 1st century church had apostatized by the time of the 4th century due to false teachings, and that the Roman Catholic Church was the apostate church. The INC believes that its members constitute the "elect of God" and that there is no salvation outside of the INC or through faith alone. The church rejects infant baptism in favor of baptism by immersion of believers, and it mandates excommunication for those who eat blood, do not frequently attend worship services, drink alcohol, or have romantic relationships with non-members. By 2015, the church had 3 million members in 7,000 congregations across the world, and they made up 2.64% of the population of the Philippines.